Author: Matt Graham
Matt Graham
The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course! Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine. You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @Mattg.
Newcastle Gathering Marks Return of AFF Events!
Over the weekend, around 40 AFF members travelled to Newcastle, NSW for the 15th annual weekend get-together. A long-standing Australian Frequent Flyer tradition, these weekends are a great opportunity to meet other frequent flyers and fellow points enthusiasts to share travel tips and see some of the sights at the destination. Last year’s event, also … Continued
Giving Gifts to the Cabin Crew: A Good Idea?
Being a flight attendant may seem like a glamorous job, but it can also be a thankless one. Airline cabin crew are highly trained, work long hours, put up with a lot of difficult passengers and at the end of the day, are responsible for the safety of their passengers – a tough job that … Continued
Qantas Pauses Perth-Johannesburg Ticket Sales
Update (25 October): Due to issues with Border Force and customs processing inbound passengers at Terminal 3 of Perth Airport, Qantas has cancelled its planned launch of Perth-Jakarta flights and the Perth-Johannesburg route will only run until March 2023 at this stage. Qantas has temporarily removed all Perth-Johannesburg flights from sale, as it finalises customs … Continued
Qantas 737 Trans-Tasman Economy Class Review
New Zealand is one of the most important international destinations for Qantas. Competing with Air New Zealand on many routes, Qantas currently offers 182 trans-Tasman flights per week using a mix of Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 aircraft. While Air New Zealand is effectively a low-cost carrier across the ditch, charging extra for things like … Continued
Marriott Ends Bonus Points on Transfers to 3 Airlines
Although it’s a hotel loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy can be very useful as a means of collecting frequent flyer points or miles with overseas frequent flyer programs. Marriott Bonvoy points can be earned in Australia by staying at hotels, transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards or even buying points directly from Marriott. Those points … Continued
Virgin, Qatar Partnership Teething Issues
It’s just over a month since Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways launched a new strategic partnership. As well as earning and redeeming points on each others’ flights, this agreement promises Velocity Gold, Platinum and Beyond members access to priority check-in, priority boarding and lounges when flying with Qatar Airways. It’s a great value-add to the … Continued
Qantas Expects International Airfares to Come Down
If you’ve looked at international airfares lately, you may have noticed how much more expensive they are compared to pre-COVID times. In fact, Qantas Business Class fares on some routes are now selling for close to $30,000 return during busy travel periods. As Australian Frequent Flyer covered recently, there are numerous reasons for the high … Continued
Podcast #95: Qatar Airways Qsuites & Avios Subscriptions
With Qatar Airways now only giving Qantas frequent flyers access to Business & First Class reward seats around 4 months out from departure, it’s become a lot harder to redeem Qantas points for Qatar Airways Qsuites. You can still redeem Velocity points for Qatar Airways flights up to 330 days ahead. But Qatar Airways Privilege … Continued
Qatar Airways Qsuites & Avios Subscriptions – AIR095
British Airways Executive Club recently began selling subscriptions to receive a monthly allotment of Avios (the airline’s loyalty program currency) at discounted prices. This could offer surprisingly good value to Australians when using those Avios to book Qantas domestic flights or Qatar Airways Business Class flights to Europe! Also in this episode, Matt sits … Continued